Wednesday, December 31, 2014

The year ahead for "the girls"

As we enter 2015, Alannah is 4 years, and 5 months; Juliet is 1 year, and 3 months.

Alannah could have gone to "big school" in 2015, but she is one week older than the cut-off, which is end-July. Her parents have opted for her to spend another year at her Kindergarten-Union Pre-school. She will attend three days per week (up from the two days during 2014), with the majority of the children she spent 2014 with. On Thursdays she will continue to spend the day with Grandad. On Fridays, she will continue to spend the day at the same day-care cottage as Juliet, albeit in a separate building. She will spend most afternoons with me - from 3:30 onwards that is. One afternoon each term week, she is attending gymnastic classes, instead of the ballet she attended during 2014. Ballet was too free-form for Alannah, who thrives on knowing the rules and working within them.

Juliet has a big change ahead of her, but as a second child, she is up for it. During 2014, she spent Fridays in long-day-care, and Wednesdays with Grandad. In 2015, she will spend three days (Wed/Thurs/Fri) in LDC. She will spend Tuesdays with Grandad, and Mondays home with me. We now have an Art House, but more on that when the project is completed next week.

My daughter will be working 5 days per week, with an early morning start, and home by 5:30pm. My SiL will have a later morning start, and a later evening finish. Effectively, Darren does the morning shift, and Kirsten does the evening shift.

5 comments:

I always write my goals for the year sometime in the first week so Jan. Have not quite done it yet. My success rate is somewhat limited. The things I care about get done. The things I have to do (like my job) get done. Anything to do with weight, fitness, gardening, and jobs around the house usually fail.

Family life is busy in your house. The girls are just adorable. I was interested in School starting age. I've been out of the game too long. So if Fox is 5 in May does that mean he should start school at the end of this month if he lived in Australia? I think he starts in September in US if they are still there. I think he would be more ready then. Goodness knows what would happen if they come back here in the middle of the year.

There is no such thing as "should", Diane. The cut off for school starting in 2015 is 31st July. If yur DoB is after that, you cannot start school in 2015. If your DoB is before 31st July, the parents may choose to start school in 2015. Depends on three things: how close the child's DoB is to 31 July; how desperately the parents want the child to go to school to reduce their costs, snd free up their work time; and whether the child is male or female.

Very few males start school in the year they turn 5. Mostly, the boys starting school in a couple of weeks, will have already turned 5. Mostly, the girls starting school in a couple of weeks will have turned 5 before Easter this year. There are, of course, exceptions. But in Alannah's Preschool year, only 3 girls are going to big-school. No boys at all.

If Fox returns to Australia any time during 2015, I would prefer to see him go to a preschool. Not a Long Day Care, but a Kindergarten Preschool. A place where he comes home in the evening so buggared because he has had to think and respond, and compromise, and be creative all bloody day.

At the beginning of 2014, Kirsten had to give Alannah quiet time in the bath for the entire first term after she had been at preschool.

The girls are looking georgeous and growing so much, where does the time go ?My youngest grandsons are 5&half and 2&half and the little one has just started to play well with his brother, he had been playing the same things but in his own way, now the talking is non stop and there is real cooperation and participation and fewer fights...lovely to see.Only another 12 months and your girls will be at the same stage.

I kept all mine out of school for as long as I could. That was my favourite time, lazy days doing whatever took our fancy while everyone else was at school/work. Everything seems so busy now, I hope I too get to do some childcare some day but not too soon. Love your resolutions, I may copy them, particularly the reading, listening to music & watching some stories.

Useful Research Sites

Candles

They are the last romantics, these candles;Upside down hearts of light tipping wax fingers,And the fingers, taken in by their own haloes,Grown milky, almost clear, like the bodies of saints.It is touching, the way they'll ignore

A whole family of prominent objectsSimply to plumb the deeps of an eyeIn its hollow of shadows, its fringe of reeds,And the owner past thirty, no beauty at all.Daylight would be more judicious,